Switch



May 15, 1923.

F. HORNBY SSSS CH Original Filed April 28, 1920 ATTORNEYS Patented May 15, 1923.

UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE. t

FRANK HonNBY, `or LIVERPOOL, ENGLANn',..AssIG'NoR ToMnooANo LIMITED, or

LIVERPOOL, ENGLANnA BRITISH CORPORATION., v

original application mea April 2s, 1920, serial 110.3773169. :Divided and unsA appneatibn 'inea september v 17, 1921." serial No. 501,324. y

a new and useful Improvement yin Switches,A

of which the following is a specification; v l

This invention relates to improvements in switches and particularly to switches which are primarily intended to be employed as starting and ,reversing switches forA toy motors designedfor use with constructlonal toys made up of interchangeable parts, the various parts `after being utilized for building up a toy or other model being capable of being taken'apart and built up linto other models. In such constructional toys it is desirable' that each part should be, interchangeable and fulfill several functions so as to reduce the total number of parts requiredin an outfit for building many models. The present invention relates to a switch embodying such standard parts. U

This invention has been disclosed in the application for improvements in motors, Serial No. 377 ,169, filed by applicant April 28, 1920, of which the present applicationA is a division. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a sheet of insulation suitable for attachment to one of the perforated supporting plates of a- `toy motor, a pin projecting laterally from the insulating sheet, a relatively long strip of insulation pivotally mounted on the pin andl perforated at its free end for engagement with otherl parts of a constructional ytoy outfit, anda conducting strip secured to the 4 insulating strip to interconnect a fixed contact electrically connected with the pivotl end of the conducting strip and either of two contacts fixed to the insulating sheet nearthe free end of the conducting strip.

One embodiment of the invention is illus-` trated in the laccompanying drawingy in Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a toy motor embodying a switch ofthe present'invention' Fig. 2 is an elevation ofthe-switch; and

'Fig 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig..

2 presenting an edge- View of the switch.

motor comprising the o positely disposed supporting plates 1 havlng perforations 2 uniformly spaced in accordance with the standard pitch of other parts of a construe* tional toy outfit. The plates 1 mayalsobe` provided with flanges 3 havingperforated motor there is provided a sheet 9 of suitabley insulating material, such "as fibre, which may be seoured'to one of the supporting plates 1 as by rivets or bolts 10. Projecting laterally from the insulating sheet is a pin 11 upon which is pivotally` mounted a relativelylong thin 'strip 12'of rigidl insulating material having a perforation at either end. Two` fixed contacts 413 lare secured in any desired manner to the face of insulating sheet I9, samewhat farther apart than the width of the strip 12. Eachk contact 13 is adapted t'o receive a terminal connected yto one ofy two 'op'positely wound field windings of the motor, While the pin 11 serves as a terminaly to be connected to one of the commutatorf brushes of the motor.'` If the other commutator-brush be connected through a source of power to the united terminals of the two field coils it is obviousl that, in order tol run lthe motor in one direction, it is merely necessary to` connect pin 11 with onekof the xed contacts13 while to reverse the direction of the motor',- it is only necessary to connect the pin to the other contact 13. If there -is no interconnection of the pin land either contact, the motor willremainat rest. .To accomplish the i interconnection aforesaid there is provided a conducting strip 14 which is most desirably of a T-shape, having arms 15 Wrapped about insulating strip12 while the opposite endof conducting strip 14 isy perforated to allow Lit to be pivotally mounted on pin l1 and preferably is wrappedy about the pivoted end of strip 12, both to morel brushes. VIn order to maintain the insulat- In these drawings there is shown a toyl ing strip 12 and its conducting strip 14 on its beneath which conductor 16 maybe clamped'v to the vend of strip 14: andthe strips clamped to the insulating sheet 9, or the end of pin 11 may be upset or riveted down and conductor 16 soldered in place.

To limit the to and fro movement of str ip 12 a strap'18 of sheet metal or other suitable material is secured at either end near the edge of sheet 9 in any suitable manner. The strap 18 presses the strip 12 i-"irmly against sheet 9 throughout its movement thereover, the resulting friction being sufticient to maintain strip 12 in any position to which it may be moved. Thus for example connections might be arranged so that with strip 12 in the position shown in F ig. 2, in which conducting strip 14 interconnects brush-conductor 16 with lower contact 13, the motor would run in one direc.- tion. 1f now strip 12 were raised until conducting strip 14 no longer contacted with said lower contact 13 but not far enough to contact with the upper contact 13, the circuit of the motor would be interrupted so that the motor would remain at rest. To reverse the direction of operation, it would only be necessary to still further raise the free end of strip 12 until strip 14 engages upper contact 13, the friction between strap 18 and strip 12 being suiiicient to retain said strip in any of the described positions regardless of the position of the motor as a whole.

It is thus seen that there has been provided by this invention an extremely simple and economical switch for starting and reversingk a toy electric motor, the switch being adapted to cooperate with other parts of a constructional toy outt as by a stripl secured to the free end of strip, 12 through the perforation therein provided or otherwise. While the switch has been described in connection with one particular motor, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such speciiic embodiment, but may be employed for many other purposes within the scope of the appended claims and without departing from the l spirit of the invention.

Vhat I claim is: 1. In a switch, a sheet of insulation, a binding post mounted thereon, an elongated insulating arm operatively pivoted at onev end on the post, a pair of fixed contacts also disposed on the sheet, said insulating arm being operable to bridge the post and either of said contacts with its free end eX- tending therebeyond, an elongated conducting` strip secured to and carried by the insulating arm and having one end in engagement with said thereabout with the arm, said conducting strip having its other end extending to andv engaging either of said iixed contacts when the insulating arm is moved to bridge the post and the saine, and means engaging the ree end of the insulating arm at a point post and pivoting prising a strip of insulation and a strip of conducting material, one end of the conducting strip being folded about one end of the insulating stripl and the `other end being provided with arms which are folded about the insulating strip intermediate its ends.

4. In a switch, an insulating base, a movable element comprising a strip of insulation, a strip of conducting material, one end of the conducting strip being folded about one end of the insulating strip and the other end being provided with arms which are folded about the insulating strip intermediate its ends, and a pivot post passing through the insulating base, the insulated end of the conducting strip.

5. 1n a double-throw switch, an insulating base, a movable element comprising a strip of insulation, a strip of conducting material, one end of the conducting strip being folded about one end of the insulating strip and the other end being provided with arms which are folded about the insulating strip intermediate its ends, a pivot post passing through the insulating base, the insulating strip, the conducting strip and the folded end of the conducting strip, and a pair of iixed contacts cooperating with the said other end of the conducting strip.

6. In a double-throw switch, an insulating base, a movable element comprising a strip of insulation, a strip of conducting material, one end of the conducting strip being folded about one end of the insulating strip and the other end being provided with arms which are folded about the insulating strip i'ntermediateits ends, a pivot post passing through the insulating base,

the insulating strip, the conducting strip FRANK i-ionNBY. 

